Laios's Heart Game

[myhungryass]

It's dark, and you are not quite conscious. You have the sense that you are climbing; that you have been climbing for a long time. You can feel the burn in your thighs, the ache in your calves. You're a little too hot, and what you're wearing is a little too heavy. You have the sense of taking a last weary, heaving step onto a plateau.



You find yourself in a dark, blank place, dominated by a huge, dead monster, building sized, as big as a tower. Each of its enormous heads that you can see laid out before you is easily the size of a ballroom. There is blood on its lips and nostrils, blood crusted around its empty eye-sockets, but there is a feeling of hollowness about it. On second thought, you're not quite sure if it's a corpse or a moult.

There is no sign of the stairs you vaguely remember climbing. You are standing on the surface of some opaque black liquid. It feels almost completely solid under your feet, springy, but your footsteps leave ripples spreading out in rings... all around you is a velvety, impenetrable darkness. The only thing you can see is the vast, lifeless beast in front of you, illuminated as if by spotlights, though no actual light-source can be found.

Its orifices are mostly clogged with blood, but somehow, as you stare at it, one vaulted nostril on the wolf's head begins to seem like an archway... the lolling tongue hanging out of the rhinoceros's head like an entry ramp... the exposed, hollow eye-socket on the eagle's head like a portal...

Of course, if you're not quite ready to step inside a monster, you could keep walking around its body and see what you find.

Comments

[lapinlazuli]

[Whoa. This is unexpected. A little weird, too.]

Uh, yeah. Just like I said I would.

Sooo... what's going on?

[myhungryass]

He scratches through his unkempt hair. A flea hops off him. "Not much, but..."

The weather brightened up while she was talking to the kid version of him, so when certain thoughts start to creep into her mind—Who is this guy, anyway? He's nobody important. He's probably more trouble than he's worth. He looks like bad news. He's clearly an anti-social weirdo. Do you really want to waste your time talking to him...?—they don't feel too hard to shake off.

He looks a little embarrassed to be seen this way, though, emaciated and filthy. "I'm grateful that you're here."

[lapinlazuli]

[Harriet’s used to dealing with intrusive thoughts, anyway. Typically they’re more violent than this.]

Hey, no problem. I’m your friend, of course I’m gonna be here.

[Is that weird to say? Is she being weird. She pauses for a moment to consider if this is weird.]

[myhungryass]

The atmosphere gets a bit warmer. "That's right—we're friends. I have friends, now. That's so weird."

[lapinlazuli]

I get what you mean. But it’s nice, having friends. Way better than being the weird kid nobody understands, right?

[myhungryass]

He laughs quietly. "Way better."

Then, after a moment... "Wait, but. Why are you here?"

[lapinlazuli]

This is gonna sound weird, but I'm looking for memories. Your memories.

[myhungryass]

"You already found them, though."

He waves a hand at the stuff she's carrying.

[lapinlazuli]

I- I know, I just- I thought maybe there'd be... more?

[myhungryass]

"Oh. I think those are the only ones I haven't already seen, but there are more scattered around that I already know about... if you're just curious?"

[lapinlazuli]

I mean, a little? But, uh...

[She looks at the book and the lion plush.]

...These might be a bit more pressing though, so I'll go ahead and bring them back to you. The, uh, other you. The one in the rhino. God this is so fucking confusing.

[myhungryass]

"Sorry..." He does sound sheepish, though there's a slight not like I can do anything about it tone too.

[lapinlazuli]

It's fine. It is what it is.

So, uh, how do I get out of here?

[myhungryass]

"Oh, just go back in the wagon, but with your eyes tightly closed."

[lapinlazuli]

Huh, okay. Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.

[She does just that! Back into the wagon.]

[myhungryass]

And back out the side of the snake! She can make the trek around to the rhino head and go in—she does have to experience being swallowed and watching Falin get eaten again, and then put up with shirtless Kabru for a sec, sorry about it—making a direct route past the weird floaty gem to the true heart!

Laios is still there hanging out on the hillside. "Harriet! You did it!"

[lapinlazuli]

[She holds up the book and the plush triumphantly]

I did it!

[myhungryass]

"Thanks a lot. Sorry to put you to the trouble."

[lapinlazuli]

Hey, it’s fine. I got to see some cool stuff while I was looking.

And, uh. Some stuff I don’t ever need to see or think about ever again.

[myhungryass]

"...you did? ...I guess that means I shouldn't ask about it."

[lapinlazuli]

PLEASE don't.

I- I also saw you were thinking a lot about how to help with my, uh. Situation. I really appreciate that. You're a good friend, Laios.

[myhungryass]

"It's not like I've found any answers yet, though. Have you talked about it with Falin? Something like an injury to the soul—I think she could really help."

[lapinlazuli]

She did take a look at my soul a couple days ago, and could tell it'd gotten fucked up, for lack of a better word. I filled Much in on it too. But as far as healing or fixing it... we're all still trying to figure that out.

[myhungryass]

"I see... I hope they can come up with something for you, soon."

[lapinlazuli]

I’m sure they will. I mean, I gotta keep my hope up, right?

…but anyway. Memory delivery! Which one do you want first?